The Lucky One
by MissJessWalker
Summary: Bella's blood sings for Jasper—the member of the Cullen family with the weakest control. So how will they remain in Forks? Carlisle has an idea. Alice loves it. And Edward…well, he's just annoyed that he's found the one person whose mind he can't read. (Edward/Bella)
1. Chapter 1

**Hi, there! Thank you so much for checking out my story! As mentioned in the description, this will be an Edward/Bella fic. There will also be a Jasper and Bella friendship. (Which I think is going to be a fun time to write...and hopefully for y'all to read!) I'm aiming to update this story at least once a week - on either Monday or Tuesday. I currently have the first few chapters written to give me a little head start, so hopefully that'll make it so I can stick to the schedule. If for some reason I don't and I take extra time to post a chapter, please be assured that I will not abandon this story. I haven't abandoned either of my other Twilight stories (even when I took longer than intended to finish them), and I will not abandon this one.**

 **So. I think that's all for now. Happy reading! :)**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. (This disclaimer stands for the entire story. I refuse to type this out every single time I update.)**

* * *

 **Chapter One**

 _Bella_

It took me about ten seconds into my first class to realize that everyone was staring at me. While this was to be expected along with my new girl status, it was severely unpleasant. The itching feeling that someone was looking at me was constant, though every time I tried to meet anyone's eyes their gaze whipped away. No one other than the teacher even spoke to me until after my first class was over.

"You're Isabella Swan, right?" a boy with not-so-great skin asked.

"Yes, though I prefer Bella," I said as nicely as I could. The last thing I wanted was to scare away the one person who'd dared speak to me.

He nodded. "Okay! Where are you going next?"

"Um…" I mumbled, lifting my schedule in my hand to peek. "Building 4?"

He smiled. "I'm going to Building 6—I can take you to 4, no problem!" He was very enthusiastic.

I smiled in return. "Thanks."

Stepping out the door and into the drizzle, we walked side by side. Then he gasped. "Oh! I'm Eric, by the way. Yorkie. Eric Yorkie."

I bit back a laugh. He was being kind; so what if he was overzealous to the point of stumbling over his words? "Nice to meet you, Eric." Building 4 came into sight. "Thanks for showing me the way."

"See you later? Maybe at lunch?" he asked hopefully.

I was unsure I could handle an entire lunch period with Eric Yorkie's enthusiasm, but I didn't want to hurt his feelings either. So I shrugged and gave a noncommittal, "Maybe." Then I ducked inside the building before he could push for any promises more binding.

Luckily I met a girl named Jessica in this next class. She was very chatty but nice enough. I got the feeling she was preening from the attention she got for talking to me—the remainder of the class was of course still watching my every move. I couldn't deny that she was friendly, though, and when she ended up also in my Spanish class a couple of periods later I gladly sat next to her when she waved me over.

To add to my luck, something of which I did not normally have in abundance so I was not looking this current gift horse in the mouth, Jessica invited me to sit with her friends at lunch. Though she introduced me to everyone when we sat down, I forgot their names almost instantly. I made polite chitchat with a few of them, but most of my conversation was with Jessica anyway.

She was running down the list of irritating qualities about our trigonometry teacher when I first spotted them.

In the far corner of the lunchroom, sitting casually, was a table full of what could only be supermodels.

"Who are they?" I asked, possibly interrupting Jessica mid-rant. But my question could _not_ wait.

Jessica smirked as she saw who I was talking about. "Those are the Cullens. They're all adopted by Dr. Cullen and his wife."

I blinked at her, not finding the significance of the name. "Dr. Cullen?"

"Oh, he's the top doctor at the hospital. Or, maybe not officially but he might as well be. Super skilled, super smart…super gorgeous. He and his wife adopted them. There's Emmett and Rosalie, Alice and Jasper, and Edward." She paused. "Though Jasper and Rosalie's last name is Hale. They're twins. I think the doctor's wife is their aunt or something, and she took them in when they were really little."

I bit my lip, unsure what to ask. I didn't want to seem too eager…but they were pretty intriguing. "And the others?"

She shrugged. "No idea. They're not related. Just adopted by Dr. Cullen and his wife. I think they're orphans."

I frowned. That was terrible. "Oh."

"And you know what's weird?" she asked, then continued without waiting for me to respond. "They're all couples. Emmett and Rosalie, and Alice and Jasper. They're, like, _together_ together. If that's even legal."

"They're not related…"

She sighed, rolling her eyes. "It's still weird."

I noticed she'd left out a name… "What about Edward?"

This question granted me another eye roll. "Don't even think about it. He's single and gorgeous, but totally stuck up. I guess no one here is pretty enough for him."

"Um…" I wasn't sure how to respond to that. "Which one is he, anyway?"

She giggled. "The bronze-haired one." I glanced over to pinpoint him—and saw he was already staring at me. Automatically, my eyes snapped back to the table in front of me. "Super beautiful, I know," she said. "But don't get your hopes up. He turns everyone down."

"I wasn't planning on asking him out," I told her so she'd get off the topic.

She smirked as if she didn't believe me. "Sure."

"So our trig teacher is annoying, but how's our Spanish teacher?" I asked, hoping to completely change the subject. "Any stories about her?"

Her hand smacked down on the table. "Oh, do not get me started!" Then she launched into a story. I only half listened as she spoke, my mind hung up on those Cullens…there was something about them. I didn't know what, exactly, but my gut was telling me whatever it was, it was going to be interesting.

First I just had to figure it out.

* * *

 _Edward_

There was a new girl today. The entire town had already known she was coming, since the Chief was beside himself to have his only daughter moving to live with him, but even if the situation hadn't had Chief Swan uncharacteristically enthused, it'd have been hard to miss.

Everyone was talking about her.

Or, more to the point, everyone was _thinking_ about her.

The school was abuzz with gossip about the new girl, but it seemed only a few people had actually worked up the nerve to speak with her.

Now she was sitting in lunch at a table with Jessica Stanley and friends. Mike Newton sat a few tables away, practically leering. His thoughts about the girl were wholly inappropriate, and therefore not useful to my family's plight, so I gladly dismissed them. Jessica Stanley's thoughts weren't particularly friendly—contrary to her demeanor toward the Swan girl—but they were the best thing to go off of presently to get a grasp on where the girl's head was at until I could pinpoint the girl's new tone of thoughts.

"Those are the Cullens," Jessica Stanley said across the cafeteria, voice eager to share gossip about the mysterious family. I barely controlled my eye roll. If any of them actually knew the truth about us, they'd run screaming. "They just moved here a couple of years ago…" She went on to tell our cover story—adopted by Carlisle and Esme, none of us actually related except the twins who were Esme's niece and nephew.

As Jessica gave the rundown, I looked over at her table. There was Jessica Stanley…and right next to her was a small brunette. Her hair hung long over her shoulders, shielding her face. But many others throughout the room could see it, and from what I could tell she was somewhat unremarkable. Average. Brown hair, brown eyes, slightly more pale than normal but nowhere near as pale as my family. She watched Jessica intently as Jessica spoke, and I shifted my focus over from Jessica's loud thoughts to see what she was thinking…

Nothing.

Her mind was blank.

Total silence came from the spot in which she sat, even though I was staring right at her.

"Edward," Alice hissed just as the girl glanced over and caught me looking at her.

I shifted my focus to Alice. "Strange."

"What's the new girl think of us?" Emmett asked, not entirely interested but bored enough to bring it up.

One more try to get a hold on her thoughts…nothing. I shrugged. "No idea."

Now all the gazes of my siblings snapped to me. "What?" Alice said.

"I can't hear her thoughts."

Jasper glanced over at the girl, focusing his powers the best he could to her area of the room. There was no blank space for him. "Are you sure?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, I'm sure. I get nothing but silence."

"Why?" Rosalie asked, her tone unhappy.

"Your guess is as good as mine, Rosalie." I was working to keep my tone kind now. The entire situation was frustrating—never had I encountered _anyone_ whose mind was silent to me, so why was this insignificant human different from every other sentient being I'd come across?—and their questions weren't helping.

Emmett's hand curled around the back of Rosalie's neck, rubbing gently. "Okay, okay." Rosalie shook his hand off after a moment, glaring at me.

"Well, I have no idea," I said to her. "It's never happened before. It shouldn't matter, though. It's not like this one human is going to suddenly discover our secrets and cause trouble. We'll be fine."

Rosalie's eyes narrowed. "If your power is failing us now, how do we know it won't fail more in the future?" _Our family_ _'s safety is at stake_ , she thought, in true melodramatic fashion.

"It won't be that bad."

"Hey," Emmett said, laughter in his voice. "Maybe Eddie's just getting weak. Getting to old there, bud?"

I sighed, resisting the urge to pinch the bridge of my nose to control the anger rising in me. It wasn't my siblings' fault the Swan girl was an anomaly. "Let's just go," I said.

* * *

 _Jasper_

"Let's just go," Edward said, standing up from his chair stiffly. Oh, he was tense. And angry. And very confused. And…possibly a little interested, as well? Though that was to be expected. He'd discovered the biggest puzzle since he was turned—the only person to ever be immune to his gift.

The rest of us stood with him as a group, dumping our trays and heading toward the door. My throat was burning, but it was a pain I was getting accustomed to. Lunch was always the worst with so many warm human bodies packed into the small room. To pick one or three of them off would have been easy. But I ended that train of thought before it got too far. Strategizing was my specialty and while normally it helped keep me calm and my mind occupied, I knew working out a plan of that particular nature would not turn out well.

I was _not_ going to be the reason the family moved this time.

We were nearing the door when Alice stiffened, Edward doing the same barely a moment later. She turned and said to Emmett, "Grab a hold of Jasper."

I was bewildered—I'd gained control of my thoughts and moved away from the possibility of feeding on some of these weak little humans—but with my next step the most excruciating fire lit up my throat. Blood lust, wild and fierce, took over my body as my eyes locked on the new girl.

I lurched forward—or tried to, restrained by Emmett's hands clasping around my upper arms and shoving me hard enough to get me out the door. There was a loud bang, causing a majority of the students in the cafeteria to glance over but I hadn't a care in the world to that. All I wanted was to snatch up the new girl and drink her dry.

But neither Emmett nor Edward would let me, both blocking my path and herding me away from the building. We kept going until we were several yards into the trees surrounding school. Alice and Rosalie trailed behind cautiously.

"You okay, man?" Emmett asked, eyeing me warily.

Pulling in a deep breath, my throat cooled. My temper leveled out. Blood lust, gone. "Yes."

"No," Alice said.

"He's fine," Edward told her.

Alice sighed. "Now he is. But Chief Swan's daughter…"

Edward winced. "We'll have to figure something out."

"You're all so _annoying_ ," Rosalie snapped. "Care to let the rest of us in on what is happening?"

I didn't want to admit it. I'd been gaining ground, doing so well. To reveal I had a special weakness for a particularly appetizing teenage girl would ruin the faith my family was beginning to have in me.

"No it won't," Edward contradicted my thoughts. "That was extreme. I've never encountered blood that potent. It's like it was branded for you. If it had been me, I don't think I would have been able to resist either."

I rolled my eyes, not allowing myself to be comforted so easily.

Rosalie was beginning to fill with rage, so I sent her some serenity—the last thing I needed was anger swirling around me right now. "I wanted to drain the new girl, Rosalie," I admitted, my voice tense. "Her scent…it consumed me. I couldn't help myself. Maybe I should withdraw from school until I'm more disciplined."

Alice shook her head, resting a hand on my arm. "He's not giving himself enough credit."

"What was that you were saying, Ed?" Emmett asked. "About how strong her blood smelled?"

Edward nodded, apparently agreeing with whatever train of thought Emmett was on. "She smelled irresistible to him. More than any other human he'd encountered before—even when he was on a diet of human blood. I'm surprised we were able to get him away, honestly."

Emmett frowned thoughtfully. "I've come across a couple of people like that before, one more appealing than the other. Decades ago, at least."

"And?" Alice asked, though surely she already knew the answer.

Emmett shrugged. "I didn't hesitate. I drained them on sight—or on smell, if that's how you want to phrase it." He smiled. "Don't be so down on yourself, buddy," he said to me, slapping my shoulder. "It happens."

"I almost ruined everything," I snarled.

"You've ruined nothing," Alice said.

Rosalie crossed her arms over her chest. "The humans in there will get over it. What's important is—what are we going to do now?"

We all looked at each other for a moment.

"Carlisle," Alice and Edward said at the same time.

Rosalie shook her head. "We all can't go to Carlisle. Some of us have to stay here to do damage control for our exit from the cafeteria."

Edward nodded. "Alright. Jasper, Alice, and I will go see Carlisle—"

"No," Rosalie interrupted. "Jasper and Alice will go see Carlisle. The rest of us will stay."

He paused, focusing on her thoughts. Then he sighed. "You have a point. I'll stay and keep track of where the thoughts are. I don't think it'll be necessary, however."

"Tough," she snapped. "Now let's go. We're going to be late." She turned on her heel and strode toward the school buildings, not looking back to see if Emmett or Edward were following.

Emmett slapped my shoulder again before heading in the same direction. "It'll all be fine, man. No worries."

Edward was looking at Alice, whether reading her thoughts or focusing on a vision as she viewed it I had no idea. But then he blinked, nodded, and said, "Don't stress so much, Jazz. It'll be alright." Then he walked toward the school like the others.

Now it was just Alice and me. In other circumstances, this would be perfect. Right now, though, I'd have rather we hadn't had the reason to step away together. "Carlisle will give good advice, Jazzy," she murmured, hand stroking down my arm for a moment before lacing her fingers with mine. "You'll be okay. And we won't have to move. Not now, and not because of you."

She tugged my hand and together we ran toward the hospital where Carlisle was currently on shift, my mind brimming with the hope that she was right.

* * *

 **So that's it - the first chapter of The Lucky One. What do ya think? Please leave a review letting me know! And until next time, I hope y'all have a lovely week!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi, friends! Thanks so much to all of you who reviewed and followed and favorited. Y'all are the best. I hope you enjoy the update! :)**

* * *

 **Chapter Two**

 _Bella_

After the Cullens' strange exit from the lunchroom, everyone was abuzz with speculation. What had made Jasper so angry? Were the brothers fighting? If so, was it serious or simply play? From what I could tell, the display was out of character for anyone from the family—even if it was a show of fun.

Selfishly, I hoped this would mean I'd have a reprieve from being the school novelty. I'd only been through a partial day of being the subject of whispers and gossip and I was already keen for it to end.

Not that I realistically expected it to have any lasting affect. But some time to catch my breath would have been appreciated.

The distraction only lasted until next period, however, when I had to march myself to the front of the room and introduce myself to the teacher. He didn't make a big production out of it, but I could feel the eyes on my back as the rest of the students waiting for class to start watched our interaction. Their eyes didn't shift away when I sat myself in the seat indicated for me either, and I began to grow curious as to why. I was at a table by myself. Did that just make me easier gawking material? Though I didn't see how since my seat was near the back of the room…

My thoughts ceased spinning a moment later when, right as the bell rang to officially begin class, Edward Cullen slipped through the door and hurried over to the seat right beside me.

Well, then. That explained that.

Mr. Banner launched right into the lesson, so there wasn't time to introduce ourselves but I figured the boy would at least acknowledge I was now sitting beside him with some sort of friendly glance. But I was wrong. He didn't even notice me or a moment—then he stiffened. His head turned slowly in my direction.

His eyes, gleaming dark as night, glared directly into mine.

The expression was so angry I nearly flinched. I definitely wasted no time breaking eye contact and focusing back on the front of the room. For the rest of the class, I was too intimidated to try to see his face again but it didn't escape me how tense Edward sat in his seat. His back erect, body taut, hands sometimes clenched in fists. He was clearly furious…at me.

Why? I hadn't said a single word to the boy. Maybe he knew Jessica and I had been talking about his family during lunch? But in such a small town as Forks, you couldn't get angry at every person who got nosy and talked about you behind your back. You'd have to hate everyone, and that'd take more energy than it was worth. Then again, hadn't it been mentioned that the Cullens kept to themselves? It was possible that talking about them really did make him mad. But _that_ mad? I found it hard to believe.

The only sure fire way to find out would have been to ask him, but that was obviously out. So instead I sat in uncomfortable silence throughout the entire class while Mr. Banner lectured, Edward Cullen sat stone still, and the rest of the class snuck glances back at us whenever they could.

Finally, the bell rang and before I could compose myself and storm out of the room Edward did so himself. I stared behind him in shock.

 _Strange_ , was all I could think. This entire thing was so incredibly strange. Another piece of the puzzle for me to figure out.

Mike Newton came to my side as I shoved my notebook into my backpack. "So did you stab Cullen with a pencil or what?"

Throwing him a narrow glance, I said, "So that was Edward Cullen?"

"Yeah," Mike answered, trying to remain neutral but I could tell he wasn't Edward's biggest fan. "He's usually more laid back. I think he's a science genius or something. This class is an easy breeze for him, so he just chills in the back."

I sighed. "But not today."

Mike smirked. "Nope. So what'd you do?"

"Not a thing." I shrugged. "Didn't even say a single word to him. Maybe he's having a bad day."

"Maybe," Mike said noncommittally, obviously done with the topic. "So where are you going next?"

Heading out the door with Mike at my side, I answered, "Gym."

He grinned. "That's where I'm going too! We can be partners."

"Great!" I replied as enthusiastically as I could, though garnering any sort of enthusiasm for gym was a challenge any day—let alone today when my mind was so full of Cullen intrigue.

Mike chattered the entire way to the gym, but I didn't pay much attention to any of it. Luckily after meeting Coach Clapp and receiving my gym uniform, I wasn't forced to participate in class today. Instead I sat safely on the bleachers, my brain turning over everything I knew about the Cullens so far.

Which was, basically nothing. I needed to learn more. Because I was clearly obsessed. But the only way to learn more would be to either ask around—which meant I'd get a lot of gossip, most of which would likely be false, and word could easily spread that I was asking in the first place—or to ask them directly.

Remembering Edward's glare in biology had me backtracking on that option immediately.

Perhaps I didn't need to pursue information so overtly. Maybe remaining observant would be a better option—and more accurate.

So that was what I decided, as the bell rang for the school day to end. Surely paying good attention would shed light on facets of the interesting family, and then my curiosity would be appeased and I'd be able to move on with my life.

That was what I told myself, but a nagging feeling in my gut told me things wouldn't go nearly as smooth—not at all.

* * *

 _Edward_

After parting ways in the woods, I made it to class just tin time to miss being tardy. In the rush to get to my seat and return to acting as uninteresting as possible to assuage the interest of the students after the show in the cafeteria, it took me longer than it should have to notice that the seat next to me was not empty as normal. I'd been granted a boon in this class when I got seated by myself—well, not exactly a boon since Mr. Banner had done it on purpose seeing as he didn't want other students to be partnered with me on assignments and labs. My intelligence _took away from the other students' learning experiences_ , he'd explained to me when he'd made the decision early in the school year. I hadn't argued. I preferred the table to myself.

But now an increasingly familiar girl occupied the single spare seat in the room.

I felt her eyes on me, and while realistically I could deduce that she simply wished to exchange a friendly greeting, I was so on edge from what was happening with Jasper—because of _her_ —I couldn't refrain from letting my fury show when I turned to glance at her.

It was immediately obvious that I should have at least tried to rein my emotion in a little, because she paled and snapped her gaze toward the front of the room barely a second later.

Regret flushed through me in an unexpected wave. I'd scared her. I shouldn't care, but for some reason I wished I hadn't done so. It wasn't her fault she was so appealing to my brother. It wasn't like she even knew that creatures such as us existed.

Regardless, the situation remained unchanged. Jasper was struggling, and the new girl was the cause. So I didn't apologize. I didn't acknowledge her in any way for the rest of class, actually. I simply sat there, my body full of tension. It really would have been better if I'd gone with Jasper and Alice. Or if not there, then at least home where I didn't have to keep up the human facade.

But the plan was for Rosalie, Emmett, and me to remain until the end of the school day. I couldn't go back on that now, no matter how much I desired. After biology there was only one period left anyway. Not much longer to endure. And with any luck, I wouldn't have the Swan girl in my Spanish class.

As soon as the bell rang at the end of the period, I quickly gathered my things and was the first one out of the room. I knew the new girl stared in shock in my wake and that the Newton boy had noticed my discomfort and subsequent haste, but I didn't care. I was out of that room and away from the source of my tension. Now I could calm down a bit until I could go home and work on figuring out what to do to handle Jasper's dilemma. I spent the majority of my Spanish class, save for the time when Goff asked me a question and I had to pay attention enough to give the correct answer, trying to come up with a helpful recommendation for how Jasper could endure the temptation of Isabella Swan's blood.

All the options led to our family relocating, however.

So when the bell finally rang and I went to meet my brother and sister at my Volvo, I was both eager to get home and dreading the inevitable decision that awaited.

* * *

 _Jasper_

It was almost extraordinary how much less difficult it was in the hospital now that I knew the blood of the many was nothing compared to the blood of the one. The sick and injured in the Forks hospital were appealing, but none so much as the girl. And if I could resist the girl…with some help from my brothers…then I could handle sitting in Carlisle's office within a building of bleeding wounds.

Alice sat next to me while we waited, my hand in hers. "How's our future lookin', darlin'?" I asked, laying my accent on thick in hopes of making her smile. My worries were not for her to stress over.

Her lips tipped up as she met my eyes, hers shining with expectation. "Interesting. Very interesting."

I frowned now. "What?" I was sure she'd be grim, our departure from the convenient town of Forks imminent. Instead, not only did her eyes sparkle but her emotions were light. Whatever was to come next made her happy, excited even.

She winked at me, settling in her chair right as Carlisle walked in the door, shutting it firmly behind him. "Let's just see what Carlisle has to say."

Carlisle rounded his desk and seated himself in his chair, looking at us with raised brows. "What I have to say about what? Is something wrong?"

"Yes," I said at the same time Alice said, "Depends on what you mean by _wrong_."

Carlisle's gaze flickered between us as uncertainty and confusion circled the air around him. It pricked at me, and I leveled it out with some serenity—just enough so that it didn't begin to affect my own emotions. "Well, maybe you should start at the beginning. What happened to bring you here?"

Alice turned to me and I sighed. It was absolutely my responsibility to tell this story, but I was dreading it. Disappointing Carlisle was terrible. "I almost drank from a human today at school."

Carlisle's head tipped to the side and I was surprised by his reaction—wonder instead of sadness. "Almost, you say?"

I blinked, nodding. "Yes, sir."

He smiled. "Jasper, that's wonderful."

My brow furrowed. "No. It's not. I almost murdered Isabella Swan today. In the cafeteria of all places, where a school full of humans would have seen."

"But you didn't."

I shook my head. "Only because Emmett and Edward threw me out of the building. Honestly, Carlisle, don't give me more credit than I deserve here. If it had been me in that room without any of the others to drag me out, I would have exposed us."

Carlisle's smile dropped as he thought through my words, but his happiness did not fade. "And you came straight here to tell me about it. As opposed to, say, pretending to be alright and going back to find the girl later when the boys weren't around. Or running off on your own to binge feed as a coping mechanism. You're searching for a permanent solution, Jasper, and that's good. It means you're invested. And investment means you can do this."

"But what do we do now?" I asked, allowing Carlisle his positive outlook. I knew nothing I said would shake it. Now we needed to find some answers. "I can't stay here. Not with that girl around."

Carlisle's head tilted thoughtfully. "Why not?"

My eyes widened. "Because I can't resist her!"

"You did today."

"Not really."

"She's alive and you're here," he stated firmly. "You resisted."

I sighed. "Sure. I did. But I won't be able to do it again. I needed a substantial amount of help this time!"

Carlisle met my eyes. "Why are you so certain you cannot do something the rest of us know you can do?"

My eyes narrowed, but I was unable to shift my gaze from Carlisle. I was locked in his searching stare. "I am still learning control."

Carlisle shook his head. "That is a weak excuse. You have control. You simply need to strengthen it." He paused, lips pursed as he thought.

"Yes," Alice said suddenly, causing both of us to turn to face her. "That's it, Carlisle. It's perfect. And, personally, I _love_ it." A smile stretched across her face and I was dazzled.

"Will it work, though?" Carlisle asked, snapping me out of my reverie at my love's beauty.

Alice shrugged. "Only time will tell." But there was a sparkle in her eye that said there was more that she was not saying. I considered trying to question her on it later but decided against it right away. When she was ready to share, she would. Timing was everything, and I knew better than to nag. I could be patient.

Carlisle nodded, taking Alice at her word. "I don't think you should leave, Jasper."

"Then how do I stay?" The question was for Carlisle, but my attention was on both him and Alice. Carlisle was calm and hopeful, while Alice was eager.

"You strengthen your control," Carlisle answered. "And to do that I think it would be a good idea for you to become friends with Isabella Swan."

* * *

 **And that's it for chapter 2! What do you think? Please leave a review with your thoughts! Until next time, I hope y'all have a great week!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi, friends! Sorry for the delay with this chapter. As I've mentioned, I was in the midst of finishing a semester of school so I was caught up in studying and freaking out and whatnot. But that's over now and I'm back, ready to get on schedule!**

 **Before I leave you with the chapter, though, I want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who has been reviewing. I'm glad so many of y'all are interested in and looking forward to this story! Your reviews make my day. Thank you, thank you for taking the time to leave them. Thank you also to everyone who has favorited and followed. And anyone who's here, reading this now. Thank you for taking time out of your day to check out my story. I hope you like chapter 3!**

* * *

 **Chapter Three**

 _Jasper_

It was not often that I became flustered. My mind was always turning, strategies and reasoning and information and my surroundings flowing and processing all the time. Catching me off guard was a near impossible task.

But Carlisle's suggestion had me stumped.

"Her… _friend_?" I asked, incredulous. His words didn't sound like something that could be serious—but I knew from both his expression and his emotions that he was solemn. He wanted me to make friends with my singer.

"It's not as outlandish as you're imagining," Carlisle said calmly. "You're stronger than you think."

"And," Alice added, both careful and cheerful—because of course she was on board for this plan, "it'll help you improve. You're strong now, but you'll get so much _better_ , Jazz, I've seen it."

For the most part when Alice said she'd seen something, we all took her word for it and trusted her advice. Now, though, I was all too aware of her margin for error. "It only takes a snap second of weakness for that vision to change."

She shook her head. "Doesn't matter."

My brow furrowed. "How could that not matter?"

Her lips twitched as she grew smug and I knew she was holding back a smirk. "Let's just say you're not the only one who's going to get attached to Bella Swan."

For my Alice, my patience could be endless. But for her riddles in this moment, I was nearing my limit. "Alice."

She giggled, in no way intimidated by my annoyance—of course she wouldn't be, I would never harm a hair on her head. "We have to let things play out naturally, and they won't do that if I go telling everyone all of the things before they even begin to happen. But I'll say that I'm going to adore her. She's going to be my best friend." Her eyes widened at me, shining in excitement.

Well, damn. "And you'll be devastated when I relapse and tear her throat out."

Again, Alice was not fazed even though my imagery was a tad gruesome. "Jasper. That won't happen."

Carlisle, who'd been silent through our little exchange, finally spoke up again. "But it is still a risk, and it is up to Jasper to decide. I've given a suggestion. Let's wait to hear if anyone else has another option, and then let Jasper weigh his options and decide."

Alice frowned. "No one has come up with anything good. They're just going to say we have to move."

"And Jasper may decide that relocating is necessary. It's up to him. He's the one who would have to struggle to stay here."

Alice shook her head but said nothing more. I hated to make her unhappy, but I was honest when I said she'd be devastated if I murdered her possible friend. A small bit of disappointment now in exchange for no heaps of pain later was not a bad way to go. Though the most ideal option would be for Alice to be happy all the time—but that would require me to actually be able to pull of Carlisle's suggestion. And while I'd have loved to have been able to commit to that, to say that my strength was great enough, I couldn't. Not with certainty.

"Well," Carlisle said, lifting a stack of papers and placing them inside a manilla folder, "I'll take this final bit of work home with me so we can go discuss with the others. I can finish this up later tonight."

Alice sighed. "Yes, the others will be arriving home shortly. They'll be impatient if we don't arrive soon."

Carlisle nodded. "Let's go, then."

We three rode home in Carlisle's Mercedes, Alice's toe tapping all the while. Her impatience was obvious, but unease sank into my bones the closer we got to home. Carlisle said we needed to hear what everyone had to say, but my intuition was telling me that it didn't matter where the discussion went—I was going to be spending time with Isabella Swan whether I liked it or not. Hopefully Alice's visions were as solid as her confidence indicated.

* * *

 _Edward_

When we got home, Esme was the only one there. Rosalie huffed and sat on the couch, impatient to wait for the three missing members of our family to arrive. Esme looked at her in confusion, and Emmett grinned. "It's been a big day. Jasper almost—"

"Emmett, shut up," Rosalie hissed, rolling her eyes.

"No," Esme said. "What happened?"

"Emmett was going to colorfully describe how Jasper almost slipped up at school today," I explained calmly, sitting down on the bench in front of my piano. I wasn't quite in the mood to play, so my back faced the instrument.

Esme's eyes widened. "Oh no. He must be so upset."

Emmett snorted. "He's fine. He and Alice went to talk to Carlisle about it. I'm sure he got Jazzy's head on straight."

"You don't need to be so nonchalant, Emmett," Rosalie snapped. "We could have to move because of this. Again."

Emmett rubbed her shoulder. "We'll be fine no matter what, Rosie. No use to be sad."

"I am not _sad_ ," she seethed. "I'm angry."

Her thoughts were actually morose, but I wasn't going to betray her words.

The sound of a car making its way up our driveway caught our attention. "They're home," Esme said. "We'll get this all sorted out."

I wasn't so confident we'd be able to sort this out in a way that would make Rosalie happy, but I let Esme attempt to comfort Rosalie anyway. My pessimistic thought process wouldn't help anything.

Jasper's thoughts were full of turmoil when they entered the room, Jasper moving to stand near the mantle while Alice sat in a chair and Carlisle stepped over to kiss Esme on the cheek. I tried to determine what words of wisdom Carlisle had given, but Jasper was such a jumble of uncertainty I couldn't gather anything useful. Alice was purposely blocking me, though she seemed to have a fair idea of how things would go. She simply didn't want me to know yet. Carlisle's mind was calm as he quietly filled Esme in on the situation.

"So?" Rosalie asked once Esme was up to speed. "Do we have to move? Or do we think Jasper will be able to handle himself here in Forks with that girl around?"

"You know," Emmett said cautiously, "there's an option in the middle here. It doesn't have to be stay with her alive or leave with her alive. We could stage an accident and—"

" _No_ ," Carlisle, Esme, and Alice said at the same time.

Emmett's hands rose defensively. "He doesn't even have to drink from her, though! Just remove the temptation…" He trailed off when no one in the room offered any indication that they agreed with the idea. "It was just an idea."

"We can't take Charlie Swan's only daughter," Esme said softly, her mind remembering her pain at losing her own child so long ago. "He'd be heartbroken."

"Besides," Carlisle added, "we're not going to take an innocent human life. It can be avoided, so we're going to do what we can to avoid it."

Carlisle clearly had something brewing in his head, but he wasn't outright thinking about it and I was growing impatient with my curiosity. "What's your solution, then? I know you have an idea. Is there some way we can manage to stay in Forks?"

His lips pursed in thought. "I believe so, yes. I think Jasper should use this as an exercise in control."

I blinked. Of all the things I could have imagined he'd say, that would not have even been on the list. "Carlisle, do you know how intense the thirst for a singer's blood is? Even for you, I bet it'd be nearly impossible to resist. Let alone—" I cut myself off before I could say something disparaging about my brother, but it was too late.

Alice turned to glare at me. "Don't act so high and mighty, Edward. You don't have a perfect record yourself."

"I know," I said in an attempt to be diplomatic. "But I saw how it was for him. It's not regular temptation."

"You don't know nearly as much as you think you do," Alice argued, her face set in anger. There was more to her upset than my foot-in-mouth moment.

Before I could inquire on it, Jasper said, "Edward's not wrong, darlin'." He looked at me. "But she's not wrong either." I tried to glean their meaning from Jasper's mind now, but he apparently had nothing to share other than confidence in his wife—and…

"Alice, no," I groaned.

She rolled her eyes. "Shut up."

"You only want to be friends with her! You'd put your husband through hell for that?" I sounded accusing now, but what she wanted was out of the question. There was no way we could draw Isabella Swan into our lives simply because Alice wanted a buddy.

The frustration in her featured mixed with hurt. "This isn't just about me. I can't believe you'd think that!"

"What else am I supposed to think?"

"Maybe you could trust me!"

"Normally I do, but you're out of line here."

Jasper's snarl ripped through the room, and we went silent as all of us focused on him. His dark eyes were on me. "Rein it in, _buddy_ ," he warned. "You're going too far."

I pulled in a deep breath, still agitated but he was not wrong. "It's not that I don't trust you," I told Alice, my voice back to a normal volume.

"It would be good for all of us," she defended herself.

"How?" Rosalie asked, both curious and defiant. She didn't entirely understand what we were arguing about, but she'd gotten the gist that Alice wanted to let a human close into our lives.

Alice frowned. "I can't give details—not before they play out naturally. But it'll definitely be really good for me and Jasper. You won't be her biggest fan…not at first, anyway."

Rosalie snorted. "Unlikely ever."

Alice smirked. "You'd be surprised."

Alice's confidence had Rosalie's eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Is this supposed to win me over? Tell me how much I'm going to adore her so it happens? Because that's not going to work."

Alice laughed, sour mood gone. "No. Don't count her out before she even gets a chance, though, is all I'm saying."

"Whatever," Rosalie said, but she was holding back a smile.

"So you want us to keep living in Forks and for Jasper to continue going to school?" Esme asked, trying to grasp the concept. I could see where she was having trouble—this didn't seem like a solution at all.

Carlisle nodded. "Yes. What better way to conquer thirst than to spend time with your biggest weakness?"

She bit her lip. "It seems risky."

"Jasper is strong."

Esme's thoughts cleared at the statement, her confidence in her newest son absolute. "He is. What do you think, Jasper?"

Jasper was watching Esme with a dazed look in his eyes. He could feel her surety that he could handle it—if he wanted to take the risk. He knew Carlisle felt the same way. Alice, too. Emmett wasn't quite as confident, but he trusted our brother to only take on challenges he felt he could best. Rosalie was indifferent; her only concern was that she didn't want to relocate again. Apparently, I was the only hold out here.

This was not lost on Jasper. "Why are you so against me even trying?" he asked, not accusing but honestly wanting my opinion.

I shrugged. My distaste for the idea was inherent. Maybe because I'd seen Jasper's struggle so clearly in the cafeteria earlier that day? "It's a big feat."

"No," Alice contradicted me. "He knows Jasper can do it if he sets his mind to it. Edward's just put out that he can't read Bella's mind."

My jaw dropped. "That's _not_ why."

She snorted. "Okay, keep telling yourself that. But I'm not going to let you talk Jasper out of this simply because you're insecure that your ability mysteriously doesn't work on her. You need to get over it."

"It is a curious phenomenon," Carlisle murmured.

Alice smiled. "You know what? You're right. It is. And we should explore it further by staying in Forks and making her our friend! It's a perfect plan, really."

Emmett's laughter boomed through the room, and even Rosalie's lips tipped upward in amusement. "Well then," Jasper said, grinning at his wife. "Who am I to argue against rock solid logic like that? Let's give it a try. If I think I'm heading towards slipping, though, I reserve the right to change my mind," he warned.

Alice jumped up from her seat with a happy squeal, darting across the room to throw her arms around Jasper. "Of course you reserve the right," she said, "but you won't need to. This is going to be so great!"

Jasper was glad to have made Alice happy, but his thoughts weren't so optimistic. Still, as he returned Alice's embrace he whispered to her, "I hope you're right, darlin'. I hope you're right."

* * *

 _Bella_

"So how did your first day go, Bells?" Dad asked later that night as we sat at the kitchen table eating dinner. He'd gotten home barely ten minutes prior, just in time for me to pull the baked potatoes out of the oven as I fried our steaks.

I shrugged. "It went fine."

"Make any friends?" His eyes were on me carefully as he shoved a forkful of potato into his mouth.

I was about to give him another brush off answer, but decided to try to use his questioning to my advantage. Forks was a small town—surely my father would be familiar with the Cullen family. "A few. You know, in my bio class I sat next to one of the Cullen kids."

Dad's gaze narrowed on me as he dropped his Fork onto the table. "You better not be hopping on the bandwagon with the majority of this town and giving that family a hard time, Bella," he said sternly. "We're lucky to have Dr. Cullen around—he's skilled enough to work anywhere he wants, places far nicer than here. It's only his wife's preference for small towns that has him at our rinky dink hospital. And those kids are good; I haven't heard of a lick of trouble from a single one of them, and they're all on the honor roll. But they're _new_ and maybe a little _different_ so everyone treats them like aliens. You'd better act better than that, Bella."

Blinking at him in shock, I sat back in my chair. It was rare my father said so much at one time. The fact that he'd done so in defense of the _Cullens_ was…interesting, to say the least. "I wasn't rude to him or anything," I said. "We didn't even really get the chance to speak. The teacher lectured all class and then we had to get to our next classes."

Dad nodded with a sigh. "Okay. Sorry for jumping down your throat. It just pisses me off that people give them a hard time."

I gave a small smile. "I'll be nice. I was only wondering at all the talk I was hearing. They seem fine, but with the way everyone was going on about them…I wondered if there was more."

"Nope." Dad shook his head. "They're good people who stumbled on a nosy town and don't like to spread their personal business. It ruffled some feathers, and no one's let go of it." He paused. "Plus there's some prejudice from the people of La Push…but that's more kept to the reservation, so I don't know those details. It's all bullshit anyway."

I laughed. "Wow, Dad. You're passionate about this."

His lips twitched as a touch of pink tinged his cheeks. "Well, I don't like good people getting run through the mud. And I said we're lucky to have Cullen as a doctor, didn't I?"

"Yeah," I nodded, "you mentioned that."

"Right." He took the last bite of his food before standing up and bringing his plate to the sink. "So be polite and kind, yeah?"

"I promise," I told him. I meant it. My father was a pretty good judge of character—being a cop and all. If he said they were good people, I trusted him. Even though Edward hadn't exactly been nice to me earlier…but Dad had mentioned that the family didn't like spreading their personal business. Edward had probably correctly assumed that Jessica and I had talked about them during lunch and had been showing his distaste. I couldn't really fault him for that.

But the question remained, was it worth getting _that_ angry over? Even with a somewhat plausible answer for Edward Cullen's actions, the whole situation still seemed fishy. Hopefully tomorrow would go better and I'd be able to brush off the feeling.

* * *

 **And that's it until next time! I hope you enjoyed it! PLEASE, if you could, please leave a review with your thoughts. They are really so appreciated. :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi, friends! Quick A/N today because I need to post this then get ready to go to my brother's new house for the night, which does not have wifi - so I wanted to make sure I gave y'all your scheduled update :)**

 **THANK YOU always and forever to everyone who reviews. Y'all are the best of the best. Also thank you to everyone who favorites, follows, and of course just reads!**

 **I hope y'all enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

 **Chapter Four**

 _Jasper_

My siblings kept eyeing me on our way to school the next day, no doubt feeling the dread I tried and failed to contain. After the near slip the day before, the prospect of what might happen today worried me. I had every intention of resisting. My mind was in it. But I vividly remembered Isabella Swan's scent, and my instincts wanted me to do nothing but hunt her down and give in—

Edward coughed, pulling me away from the path my thoughts had taken. Again. He shook his head, not saying a word. He, and everyone else in the family besides Alice, had wanted me to take a day or so off from school before working on my control. I hadn't wanted to torture myself with stress over what was to come, though. I preferred to jump right in.

Perhaps it wasn't the most careful method, but it was the only way I could commit without the possibility of losing my nerve.

In the parking lot, we parked toward the edge of the lot, away from any more reasonable spots where the Swan girl was likely to park. It also gave me some distance from the mass of students milling about the school so I could brace myself for the day with fresh air. I didn't have any classes with the girl, so I likely wouldn't cross paths with her until lunch, but I wanted to be as cautious as possible.

"Are you sure about this?" Rosalie asked, watching me intently. Her emotions were uncertain, nervous. A tinge of worry laced the air. Whether that was actually worry for how I was doing or the outcome that would affect us all was unknown.

I nodded resolutely. I'd made my decision, now I needed to stand firm. No room for weakness. "Yes."

She didn't seem convinced, so I let her feel my newfound confidence. While I was at it, I gave a dose to Edward too since he seemed skeptical. "If you're sure," Edward said.

"I'm sure." Not even Edward could argue with my certainty.

"Great, now let's go before you guys freak him out," Alice said, taking my hand and tugging me toward the buildings. My lips twitched—she knew as well as I that once I was determined to achieve something I wouldn't give up. Even if my siblings doubted me; I'd simply have to prove them wrong. "You'll do great," she told me quietly, and I knew she meant it.

"I will," I agreed, boosting her confidence in me even more. "Don't you worry."

She grinned, going on her tip toes to peck my cheek before wandering off to her own first class.

I spent the first portion of the day very aware of my surroundings. Which wasn't exactly out of the ordinary, but my reasoning was now much different. My attention was focused on making sure Isabella Swan didn't cross my path unexpectedly in any way—not even the barest breeze of he scent in my direction. Luckily, my vigilance was for nothing because by the time I walked toward the lunchroom with Emmett and Rosalie I hadn't seen hide nor hair of the girl.

Many of the students talked about her, however. I learned a lot. Her parents had divorced when she was only a baby, and she'd lived in Phoenix ever since. She visited her father, who clearly adored her, once a year. Now she'd chosen to come live with her father for reasons unknown to the general public, thus leading to much speculation. She'd become fast friends with Jessica Stanley and her group, though Jessica was already speaking negatively about the girl to other friends; her jealousy seemed to be the reason for this, and later overheard conversations revealed that Mike Newton had his eyes set on Isabella Swan which explained the quick Vendetta Jessica seemed to have. In one day, the Swan girl had gone from being the new girl to being something of a Forks celebrity. And from what I could tell, she had no idea.

Without any insight into the girl herself, I couldn't come to any real conclusions about her life or reasoning behind her actions. So mostly everything that wasn't cold hard fact was speculation. But the information would be useful regardless.

Like, for instance, I could expect her to sit at Jessica Stanley's table again. So when we made it to the lunchroom before the masses, I led Emmett and Rosalie to a table as far from where I knew they would sit as possible. It was in the opposite corner of the room than we usually sat, but I figured my siblings and Alice wouldn't mind considering the circumstances.

When Alice arrived, however, she frowned. "How are we supposed to make friends if you're not anywhere near her, Jazz?"

I gave her a patient smile, pulling out the chair next to me and gesturing for her to sit. "One step at a time. First I need to make it through at least one lunch period without wanting to attack her. Then, once I'm sure I can get closer, I'll work on initiating conversation."

She pursed her lips. "Maybe I should go talk to her first, then. Warm her up for when you get to—"

"No," I said firmly. "I appreciate you wanting to help, darlin', but I've got to do this. It's my challenge, and I'll be the one to defeat it. I just need to do it in my own time."

She sighed, but nodded in understanding. "Fine."

I rubbed her shoulder. "You'll get your new friend soon enough. A little patience first."

She rolled her eyes. "I _know_. I'm just…excited for what's to come." Her gaze met mine, sparkling slyly. Whatever was to come, she was still keeping it a secret for now—and if the burst of irritation was any indication, she was hiding it from Edward in her mind too.

"Maybe you should stop talking about how great the future is if you're not going to share?" Edward suggested.

Alice giggled, the sound like bells. I smiled. "What's the fun in that?" she asked teasingly.

Now it was Edward's turn to roll his eyes, but the attitude was short lived. He faced the door. "She's about to walk in."

 _Thank you_ , I thought to him calmly, pulling in a deep breath just before she walked in. Her gaze scanned the room, landing on the table we sat at yesterday before a startled look took over her face. Then she continued to glance over the room…until she caught where we were sitting. She blinked a few times, stumbling a little over what appeared to be nothing. Another fact to add to my growing list of information on Isabella Swan: she was clumsy.

After a moment, she regained her composure and made her way through the lunch line, only grabbing a bottle of soda before settling at the table I'd predicted with Jessica Stanley and her group of friends.

Throughout the entire lunch period, I tried my best not to stare…and failed. I noticed she was having the same issue, but her attention was captured by my mind-reading brother so luckily she didn't notice that she had my focus. Emmett, Rosalie, Alice, and even Edward chatted quietly throughout the period, but I paid them no mind. I was singularly focused on achieving my first task in my overall goal—making it through today without having the violent reaction I'd had yesterday.

"Are you ready to go?" Alice asked gently as we were nearing the time for the bell to ring.

Ready or not, I was going to do it. So I stood from my chair with the rest of my present family following suit. "Let's go."

Emmett and Rosalie walked ahead of me while Edward and Alice flanked either side, subtly creating a barrier in case the worst happened and I snapped.

I drew into my reserves to clench down on all the calm I could manage as we neared the Swan girl's table, which we had to pass to exit the room. My body relaxed. And then as we walked by, I did the opposite of what I'd done all lunch long.

I took a deep breath.

My throat burned, and my lips twitched in attempt to pull back in a snarl. My body wanted to react—I could feel the instinctual movement trying to happen, but I held back. Drawn tight and fighting everything in my nature, I took tense steps toward the door. On any other day, the distance was nothing. What was ten feet? I could pass ten times that in seconds.

But now the distance felt like forever.

Until finally, finally, we were through the doors and out of the cafeteria, fresh air surrounding us as I took extra steps to catch my bearings. I felt like stumbling but held strong. The hard part was over—now I needed to recover.

Realizing what my own thoughts had just said, I froze.

Alice, obviously catching my shock, threw her arms around me. "You did it!"

I smiled, returning her hug and kissing her head. When she pulled back, I left my arm around her but faced our siblings. "Told y'all I could do it."

Emmett's laugh boomed, Edward smiled, but Rosalie smirked as she said, "Shut up, Jasper."

* * *

 _Bella_

Forks was teaching me intimately how it felt to constantly be a spectacle. I was almost immune to the casual attention. Except throughout lunch they were watching me—I knew it. Every time I looked over, they didn't appear to pay me any mind. But when I wasn't looking I could _feel_ it. Different from when the rest of the students stared. There was a heavier weight to the gazes coming from the Cullen table.

My own eyes frequently strayed in their direction. To Edward, mostly. I told myself it was because I was trying to gauge his mood compared to our last encounter. Would he be so angry again today? But I was lying. The truth was that I simply had a fascination with them…with him.

As I walked to biology, I hoped Edward wouldn't remain such an enigma today so I could get over my rapidly deepening obsession.

Entering the classroom I saw that he had beaten me to our table. Not surprising since he and his siblings had left the cafeteria before me. But as I made my way to my seat, nerves started crawling up my throat. For all the confidence I had in my mind to learn more about the Cullen family and Edward's strange behavior, I was turning to such a wimp now. I dropped my backpack on the floor by my seat and Edward's eyes snapped to me.

They weren't nearly as hostile today, though they were not exactly friendly, either.

"Hello," he murmured as I sat down. "I'm Edward Cullen. I apologize for not introducing myself yesterday—I was worried about my brother. He wasn't quite feeling well. You're Bella Swan, correct?"

I blinked at him, partly agape that he was speaking to me at all but also very slowly processing his words. "Um…" I mumbled, trying to come up with some response that wasn't idiotic. "How do you know my name?" Mentally, I cursed myself as soon as the question was out. So much for not saying something stupid.

Edward's brow furrowed. "Sorry to be the one to tell you, but everyone knows your name. You've been the talk of the town."

"Oh, no," I said, trying to save the interaction even though I'd already led it in a ridiculous direction. "I know that. I meant how did you know to call me Bella."

It took Edward a moment to respond, but I could have sworn I saw a muscle tick in his cheek. Great. I was making him angry again. "Do you prefer Isabella?"

I shook my head. "No. I like Bella. It's just…" Wow this was going terribly. "Everyone seems to know me as Isabella and I'm always correcting them. I think my dad calls me Isabella behind my back or something."

Edward's expression smoothed out and he nodded. He didn't seem to have anything else to say, so we both focused on the front of the classroom to wait for class to start. I wouldn't have called the short introduction a successful conversation, but I let out a breath of relief that at least we'd had an improvement over yesterday.

* * *

 _Edward_

After a successful lunch period for Jasper, I figured I might as well work on improving the atmosphere between the Swan girl and myself. If Jasper made it to the point of being able to handle her blood enough to spend time with her as a friend, I didn't want to be an obstacle to achieving that goal because the girl had any sort of prejudice against me for being rude to her. I needed to support my brother. Even if I didn't particularly wish to interact with her.

So in biology, I introduced myself. I was polite. I was not openly hostile. I was even kind enough to ignore her awkward attempt at…conversation? Whatever it was she tried to do with questioning me calling her by her preferred name. And that was an endeavor in and of itself, since it was so _frustrating_ not knowing what was going on in her head. Navigating what could possibly have been a human interaction landmine.

Overall it was a minimal interaction, but I figured it was better than nothing. Definitely better than the impression I'd left the day before. Likely not enough to overshadow what I now recognized as a blunder, but I didn't need to do everything now. If we were to remain in Forks, I'd have time. Hopefully that time would teach me patience with not being able to see into her mind—or better yet a way into her mind so I wouldn't have that weakness.

This hope was what I wrapped my mind around through class as Mr. Banner lectured and the girl took notes and occasionally stole glances my way. From what I could tell, she was more at ease around me now that we'd spoken to one another.

My suspicion was confirmed later when I met Alice by the car. "Good job, Edward! Things just got easier."

I narrowed my gaze at her. "Easier how?"

Alice simply grinned, refusing to give even a hint of what was to come for us with the Swan girl. All she'd reveal was that Isabella Swan was destined to become a dear friend. In exactly what capacity and for how long, only Alice knew. She kept all the specifics to herself. It was nearly as infuriating as not being able to read the girl's mind.

On the drive home, Emmett and Alice congratulated Jasper again on doing so well during lunch. Rosalie was stewing in her seat behind me, and though aligning with Rosalie in her bitterness was odd, I was silently glad to not be alone.

Jasper brushed off their congrats. "I'm still a ways away from making contact."

"I'm just saying, man," Emmett said, "you're already blowing my mind. I only lasted, like, four seconds. Tops. You're doing great."

"You really are," Alice agreed. Her mind flashed to the Swan girl's face, the girl's eyes wide. There was no context around it and Alice pushed the memory of the vision away swiftly before I could pick anything else out of her mind. _In due time,_ she thought to me. Aloud she said, "You'll get there sooner than you think, Jazz. Don't stress too much."

Jasper sighed, thinking that he needed to stress. He couldn't relax, not yet. He hadn't built up resistance enough to let his guard down—and he didn't think he'd be directly interacting with Isabella Swan nearly as soon as Alice thought. But he also knew better than to bet against Alice. He'd learned better than that. So he said, "I'll try not to, darlin'. But try to be patient, yeah?"

Alice smiled at him. "I'll try."

* * *

 **What do you think? Please leave a review if you feel so inclined! And until next update, I hope y'all have a super great week! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi! I know - long time, no post. I'm sorry. My writing is kind of at the mercy of both my schedule and my mood/inspiration, so sometimes I go a span of time without writing anything...and then I'll write a bunch in a huge burst. And other times, I can stay consistent over a long period of time. Really, there's no rhyme or reason to it. But as I've said, I will not abandon this story and I haven't. In fact, here's the next chapter for you. Enjoy! :)**

* * *

 **Chapter Five**

 _Jasper_

While I hadn't exactly made any monumental strides forward in the endeavor with my singer, I felt accomplished enough to not dread school the next day. In fact, I daresay my spirits were high as we drove into the parking lot. I could ease my way closer to the girl, gain physical proximity day by day until I was comfortable enough with her scent to actually interact with her. The idea wasn't any different than the original plan, but now that the first step had been taken and execution had begun I could see it working out. Slowly.

The emotions of my wife were not quite as light, however. I tried to catch her eye as we exited Edward's Volvo, but she shook her head. Apparently this wasn't something she was willing to discuss just yet. But I did see her and Edward exchanging glances—Edward appearing perturbed when Alice gave him the same response she'd given me.

My logical mind tried to piece together what could be wrong. We were hanging around the car in the parking lot, soaking up as much fresh air as we could before we had to make our way inside with all the humans for the day. Hopefully we weren't too conspicuous with our comfort outside in the cold; there had been snowfall overnight, and the air was now crisp with a bitter chill. We didn't feel it, but the humans were all bundled up to withstand it.

Emmett and Rosalie had been murmuring to each other, but then Rosalie snapped, "What is going on?"

I turned my gaze to her, but she wasn't asking me. Her glare was waffling between Alice and Edward. So she'd picked up on their tension too.

Alice shrugged. "I don't know yet. I have a bad feeling, though."

"Maybe we should go home…" Edward suggested, eyes flickering briefly in my direction.

"No," I said resolutely. "I did well yesterday. I'm not going to back down now. The only way to go is forward, and skipping days when it's not necessary won't help."

Edward didn't look so sure, but Alice nodded in agreement. "I don't think this has anything to do with Jasper's control, Edward." Her tone was slightly chastising. "You should have more faith in him than that."

Our brother frowned. "I can't imagine what else would—"

"Shut up, Edward," Rosalie interrupted with a huff. "You don't know everything. There's five of us and hundreds of humans. Assuming Jasper is the cause of any problems here is rude."

My lips quirked at Rosalie warning Edward against being rude, but I wasn't going to speak up and point out that particular irony.

Emmett, however, was not as wise. He snorted. "Rosie."

She narrowed her gaze at him. "What." It wasn't a question; it was a dare.

But her husband was fearless. "You're telling Eddie boy not to be rude. Really?"

She slapped his arm. "Yes, I am. Jasper is our brother. We're supposed to support him. Not make him question his own progress."

My slight smile faded. "Thank you," I said quietly, sending a wave of gratitude her way.

Rosalie rolled her eyes. "Whatever. We don't need to make a big deal. About me, anyway. We should make a big deal about Edward being unsupportive, though. He needs to get over himself and…" she trailed off. "Are you even listening to me?"

Edward was staring across the lot—where the new girl was getting out of her noisy truck. "I can use my eyes and my ears at the same time, Rosalie," he assured her. "Do you think your sense of foreboding has to do with _her_ , Alice?"

Alice tipped her head to the side and studied the girl in question—who just so happened to glance over at that point to see us all watching her. A flush filled her cheeks, but we were far enough away that I could make this a casual observation instead of a temptation. "I don't know," Alice answered. "Maybe—" she stopped talking as her eyes went out of focus.

A screech filled the air, and Alice gasped out, "Oh no." A van was skidding across the slick ground, heading directly toward the new girl.

My mind stalled as I imagined what would happen next: crashing, screaming, blood… _blood_. I would not, could not, withstand that, even from this distance. If that van hit the girl, my progress and all my high hopes would be for nothing.

I wasted no more time thinking, and instead sped into action.

* * *

 _Bella_

It happened so fast—quicker than the blink of any eye. One moment, I was trying not to watch the Cullens across the lot as they watched me. The next, there was the screeching of brakes and a startled scream and a van heading right for me. There was no time to react. All I could do was stand there by my bumper and mentally brace for impact, though I knew that wouldn't help. This was going to be bad.

But as I stood there with my eyes squeezed shut, a force slammed into me from an unexpected direction. I collapsed under the weight, my head smacking off the ground as something cold laid on my chest, holding me down.

The sound of metal crunching and glass breaking made my eyes snap open again.

What I saw was a shock.

There was a Cullen on top of me, wrapped around me, shielding my body from the green van that was now only centimeters from his back. My eyes went back and forth from the van to my truck, which had a huge dent but was somehow otherwise unharmed, to the boy protecting me. He seemed to be holding his breath.

"Are you okay?" I asked him, my voice a croak.

His gaze snapped to me, golden irises shining. He stared for a moment, then…sniffed? Was he sniffing the air? His body stiffened. He coughed a little. Then he studied our surroundings, not lifting off of me as he did so. It was weird, but I suspected he also wanted to make sure we were safe before getting up. Which was nice, I had to admit.

I took this chance to glance around at our surroundings as well. I'd already clocked my truck and the van, but now I noticed that the Cullen and I were strapped between the cars. There were other students trying to peek over the ones around us, asking if we were okay, if anyone was hurt. There was also glass scattered on the ground. Since the boy had been shielding me, I was fine but I looked at him.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked again, my voice stronger this time. "There's glass everywhere. Are you hurt?"

His gaze shifted back to me again. His stare was unnerving, but I refused to be intimidated. He'd helped me. Now I needed to make sure he was alright. Was he holding his breath again?

"I'm fine," he mumbled. Then he lifted off of me, scooting as far away as he could in the limited space.

I squirmed, trying to get my arms underneath me so I could sit up.

He moved closer and waved his hand over me. "Don't. You hit your head pretty hard. You should stay down."

I tried to ignore him and sit up anyway, but when I lifted my neck a sharp pain split through my skull. "Ow."

His lips tipped into a smirk. "Yeah."

I would not roll my eyes at the Cullen boy who had kept me from getting crushed. Wait—a Cullen… "How did you get over here so fast?"

He raised his brows at me, his expression nonchalant but I noticed his fists were clenched. "That's a strange way to say thank you. I'm a kind stranger who pushed you out of the way of a speeding car, and the first thing you do is question the circumstances?"

Okay, I couldn't help it. I rolled my eyes. "You're not exactly a stranger."

"We haven't met," he said firmly, the gold in his eyes burning in a way that made me think there was more to his response. A double meaning somehow. I took a second to puzzle over that, but came up with nothing.

Besides, he wasn't exactly wrong. "I've met your brother, though. Edward." _And I_ _'_ _ve heard lots about your family_ , was what I did not say. It was true, but I knew how uncomfortable it was to be the subject of attention for an entire school. I wasn't going to draw attention to that fact.

"I am not Edward."

"I know that, but…" I trailed off, unsure where I'd been going with this. I should have just let him introduce himself and we could have moved on from there. "I just meant that I know who you are. Even though we haven't met. So you're not exactly a stranger."

He frowned, weighing my words. "Well, I know who you are too."

I scoffed at that. "Not surprising."

"But I still wouldn't say we're not strangers. Not yet, anyway."

"And at what point would you say we're done being strangers?"

He smiled. "When introductions are made, of course." He paused, looking unsure for a moment. His fists clenched, then unclenched. He closed his eyes, pulling in a breath. His body stiffened when he held it in, but then he opened his eyes and held out his hand. "I'm Jasper Hale."

Hale. Not Cullen. Interesting. But he was still with the Cullens, one of them. This only increased my curiosity for the family. I pushed that aside for now, though, and put my hand in his. "Nice to meet you, Jasper. I'm Bella. Bella Swan. Thanks for not letting me get run over by that van. Though I'd still like to know how you got all the way over here so quickly."

He ran his hand through his blond hair with a sigh. "Back to this?"

"Yes!" I said. "You were all the way across the lot with your family. How did you get from there to here in the blink of an eye?"

He didn't say anything for a second, then he squinted at me. "Is your head okay?"

I scowled. "Don't change the subject."

He shook his head, his expression genuinely concerned. "No, really. You said I got over here in the blink of an eye. It wasn't. I was already almost over here when the van started skidding. Are you having a lapse in memory?"

Blinking, I thought that through. "No. I saw you. Edward and one of the girls was staring at me. You and the other two were over there, too. I saw it. Then the van…" I trailed off, trying to piece it all together. I had seen them. I knew I had. But uncertainty was coursing through me now, and it wasn't helped by the fact that I couldn't even remember any of the other Cullens' names to describe it properly. All I knew was Edward, the guy I had biology with, and Jasper, who had just introduced himself to me. I couldn't remember the names of the others, though Jessica had told me them all.

"Don't worry," Jasper murmured soothingly, standing to check out what was going on beyond the cars boxing us in. "We'll get you checked out. You'll be okay."

* * *

 _Edward_

Alice's hand was on my arm as we all stared over at where Jasper was now boxed in with the Swan girl. She didn't see anything bad happening, but I felt a pull over there anyway. I had no reason to care so much. She was just a regular human girl. A challenge for Jasper…and myself, too. If anything, I should have been disappointed that Tyler Crowley's van hadn't been her demise.

And yet as the scene had played out and I had stood there frozen, my mind had screamed, _Not her_.

If Jasper hadn't taken action, I had no doubt I would have.

But why?

I met Jasper's gaze as he assured the girl she'd be okay. _Am I lying?_ he asked.

Shaking my head in small enough motion for no one but one of our kind to notice, I gave him his answer. None of Alice's visions were showing Jasper having issues with his control. It was an odd leap forward, considering it was only days ago when Jasper had needed to be thrown out of the lunchroom in order to refrain from ripping her throat out in front of the entire school. Now he was in close quarters with her in a vulnerable situation, and he was solid in his resolve.

"Jasper always has worked well in extreme circumstances," Alice murmured, her mind on the same track as mine. "Strategy and careful maneuvering are where he excels."

Rosalie sighed. "So this was a push into success? He would have done just fine with the original plan. It would have taken longer, but he wouldn't have failed."

Emmett chimed in, "Yeah, but this way was probably easier for him. In the long run. Less time to think and worry. Now he knows he has control enough to be near her, talk to her, and even resist an obvious blood scenario."

"Obvious blood scenario?" Rosalie scoffed.

"He could have let the van hit her, Rosie," Emmett explained, reaching out to rub at her shoulder even though she was glaring at him. "Easy excuse for snapping."

Alice began striding toward where Jasper was standing, saying to us as she left, "This isn't the place for this conversation. And we'll look suspicious if we don't check on him."

Realizing she was right, and that the thoughts and eyes of students were on us curiously, I wasted no time following her. She obviously made it to the scene of the accident first, her voice pitched higher than normal as she exclaimed, "Jazzy, are you alright?"

A warm smile slid over his lips as he assured her, "I'm just fine, darlin'. Bella here got a bit of a whack to her head, though. Do you know if an ambulance is on its way?"

"I'm pretty sure I'm fine," the human girl mumbled.

"I'm not so sure," Jasper disagreed gently, widening his eyes at me. I'd caught their exchange before, where he'd planted the seed for the possibility of a head injury—one that could result in a lapse of memory, thus making it seem like Jasper crossed the parking lot in the blink of an eye. Which he did actually do. But we didn't need Isabella Swan knowing that.

A majority of the crowd in the parking lot was focused on Tyler Crowley at this point, since the boy had passed out at the wheel after crashing, but I overheard multiple students on the phone to emergency reporting that there were multiple students involved in the incident and in need of medical attention. So I told Jasper, "Help is on its way."

A defeated sigh sounded from the ground on the other side of the car. I chuckled.

"Maybe we could move one of the cars so you two could have more room," Rosalie suggested, nudging Emmett. "Go help."

Alice smiled. "Yeah, Em. You and Edward move this one right here, it looks lighter than the van and the truck." She gestured to the smaller car the Swan girl had parked next to. "That way Jasper doesn't have to crowd Bella and the paramedics will be able to help her faster when they arrive."

"Rosalie has some muscles on her, maybe she should do it herself," Emmett joked as he moved to do as the ladies said. Alice and Rosalie could both do this themselves easily, but for appearances I helped Emmett move the car out enough to move through the gap.

"Um, were you supposed to do that?" a voice piped up from a few feet away. I looked over to see Jessica Stanley standing there with her hands on her hips. "This is a crime scene. You just compromised it."

I rolled my eyes, and Rosalie stepped forward to narrow her gaze at the girl. "Would _you_ leave your brother trapped in between cars after he saved some girl's life? Would _you_ leave your brother and that girl trapped when the girl was most likely facing a head injury and needed immediate medical attention? Would _you_ be worried about a stupid _crime scene_ when the wellbeing of the people involved is much more vital? Hmm? Would you, little girl?"

Emmett's hand landed on Rosalie's arm as he pulled her back a little bit, pressing her into his side. "Calm down, Rosie."

Jessica Stanley's face was white as a sheet. "No need to flip out. Just pointing out—"

I jumped in and interrupted before Jessica finished her sentence and infuriated Rosalie even more. "It doesn't matter, Jessica, this isn't a crime scene. It's the scene of an accident. At this point, all that matters is damage done to vehicles and people. The vehicles can be assessed later. The people, on the other hand…" I trailed off.

"How are you feeling, Bella?" Alice chimed in, shifting the attention away from Jessica's ignorance.

Bella had managed to prop herself up on her elbows, but had yet to sit up fully. A tension around her eyes revealed she was in pain. But the words that came out of her mouth were, "I've had worse." She sounded sincere, and that made me curious. Was this girl a danger magnet?

Mentally, I laughed at myself. Of course she was. All the girl had to do was live and breathe, and she'd attracted one of the most deadly vampires to her blood.

"I'm Alice, by the way," my sister said, squatting down to offer her hand. As they shook, Alice pointed out out other two siblings. "And that's Emmett and Rosalie. I'm sure you know Edward and Jasper by now."

Bella smiled weakly. "Hi."

"You've had worse?" Emmett asked, skipping over a greeting. "Worse than a van nearly crushing you?"

Bella laughed. "Don't ask."

Emmett snorted. "How can I not? I need _details_."

"Oh look," Rosalie said pointedly, "the ambulance is here. Let's get out of the way, Emmett." Then she dragged her husband across the lot to where the Volvo was parked.

"Edward," Alice said, gaining my attention. "You should probably go, too. I'll make sure Jasper gets taken care of." In her mind she added, _Jasper will have to go to the hospital. I_ _'_ _ll take care of it so he gets taken directly to Carlisle. You take Emmett and Rosalie and meet us there._

Her planning and reasoning was solid, but…

 _I_ _'_ _ll make sure Bella is alright, too. Don't worry,_ she added.

My brow furrowed. Why would it matter to me how Bella was taken care of? It was definitely the cause of my hesitance—but why? And how would Alice know?

"Edward," Jasper said firmly, "time to go."

I met his eyes. _We can figure everything out later. For now, we need to not cause a scene. Or more of one._

With a sigh, I nodded. He was right. Surely he could feel how confused and conflicted my emotions were. We could discuss later and maybe he could help me figure it out.

But that was later. Now, I headed over to the Volvo where Emmett and Rosalie waited, resisting the urge to turn around all the while.

* * *

 **What do you think of my twist on "Phenomenon"? This was one of the first scenes of this story I pictured when I started brainstorming this one, so I'm excited to finally have it written and posted for y'all! Please let me know your thoughts on the chapter - and where you think they story may go from here? And on that note, THANK YOU to everyone who has reviewed so far. You are the best people. :)**


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